Bond Commission approves I-49 funding

BATON ROUGE – Funding for constructing the final segments of Interstate 49 North and doing work to upgrade U.S. 90 to interstate standards to become I-49 South should be available by the end of the year.

The State Bond Commission Thursday set the stage for selling up to $100 million in bonds backed with money in the state’s Unclaimed Property Fund.

State Treasurer John Kennedy, who came up with the idea of using unclaimed property and whose office administers the fund, said Friday he is “real proud of it.”

Kennedy describes it as “a win-win. We get to finish I-49 North and then we finish on I-49 South and nobody loses their unclaimed property.”

The Bond Commission action calls for bonds to be issued at an interest rate of not more than 6 percent and paid out over 35 years.

The actual amount of the sale is yet to be determined and the Department of Transportation and Development has until Dec. 31 to arrange the sale.

Deputy Treasurer Jason Redmond said “we anticipate the entire $100 million will be sold for both I-49 North and South.” He said the plan calls for $80 million for the northern section linking Shreveport to Arkansas and $20 million for the southern part linking Lafayette to the West Bank Expressway in New Orleans.

Bond proceeds also will be used to leverage federal highway funds, making the money go farther.

The Unclaimed Property Fund continuously receives money when people don’t claim their utility deposits, abandon checking accounts or safe deposit boxes, don’t claim dividend or payroll checks and through a number of other ways. The treasurer prints in newspapers and online lists of names of people who have unclaimed property that’s been turned over to the state and has a process for the owners or heirs to reclaim it.

Each year, though, more comes into the fund than is claimed, so Kennedy came up with the idea of using the money to finance I-49 construction bonds. He credits former state Rep. Billy Montgomery of Haughton and former Sen. Lydia Jackson of Shreveport for getting the legislation approved and former Gov. Kathleen Blanco for signing it into law.

“It’s going to be an economic powerhouse” when finished, Kennedy said. “It’s a north-south trade corridor linking Canada to the Gulf Coast. This is a big deal.”